


Carrying Tradition

by OneMoreNight1996



Series: axgweek 2020 [4]
Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Light Angst, Love, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:41:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25731538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneMoreNight1996/pseuds/OneMoreNight1996
Summary: Before her marriage, Arya is given a necklace that every woman in the Stark family has worn on their wedding day.Written for axgweek Day 4: Family Tradition
Relationships: Arya Stark/Gendry Waters
Series: axgweek 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1861408
Comments: 3
Kudos: 74





	Carrying Tradition

When her mother brought a carved wooden box to their weekly lunch, she knew right away what laid inside. It was the necklace that had been worn by the bride at every Stark family wedding since her great-great-great grandmother had worn it at hers. It was said to bring luck and prosperity to the couple getting married. Talisa had worn it when she married Robb, Ygritte when she married Jon, and even Sansa had worn it to her own wedding the year before.

The necklace silver with an oval pendent in which a direwolf was embossed upon. It was the crest of their family which had been used in their family since it had been formed long ago. It was really quite a beautiful piece of jewelry and she was proud to wear it when she married the man she loved.

"I can't believe that you're actually getting married." Sansa said, sipping on her drink. "You always insisted that you'd never marry anyone yet here you are."

"I suppose I've grown up." She shrugged. "Plus, marrying Gendry doesn't feel like a bad thing. He's the best thing that ever happened to me really."

"I feel like it's unfair meeting your perfect match when you're only nine years old, the rest of us had to work for it." Ygritte teased, making Arya roll her eyes.

"Well, it was your husband that first brought him home so blame him." She said with a grin.

"You know, I remember him complaining when you and Gendry first got together." Ygritte said. "He whined for days about how it broke the bro code."

"I remember." She nodded, rolling her eyes again. "He said the same thing to me and Gendry over and over until he eventually got over it. He can be such a drama queen sometimes."

"Anyway." Sansa drew the word out, obviously to change the subject. "Have you an Gendry decided on a honeymoon destination yet? I know that you guys were still trying to decide not that long ago."

"Yeah, we've decided to go to Braavos." She told them. "I think it'll be a lot of fun."

"I've been to Braavos." Talisa put in. "It's a beautiful city and the canals are an amazing feat to witness. There's so much to do there, you two won't be bored for even a second."

"If they manage to drag themselves out of the hotel room you mean." Ygritte teased, wagging her eyebrows, and the other girls laughed.

The laughter was brought to an end when her mother cleared her throat and they all looked at her sheepishly.

"Sorry Mrs. Stark." Ygritte said.

"Yeah, sorry mom." Sansa added. Their mother rolled her eyes.

"Please girls, I've been a newlywed bride before, I know what happens on the honeymoon." She said, causing Sansa and Arya to both make disgusted sounds that she ignored as she continued speaking. "I just don't relish in hearing about it. Some things a mother shouldn't know."

"Right, we'll make more of an effort to remember that in future." Arya commented. Talisa's pager beeped from it's spot on the table and she reached over to check it, sighing as she began gathering her things, before she looked at all of them.

"I have to get back to the hospital but lunch was lovely." She said before glancing over to meet Arya's eyes. "I look forward to the wedding."

She left swiftly, rushing to answer the page she'd gotten, and the rest of them returned their gaze to the people at the table.

"Well, I suppose that's our cue to finish up lunch." Her mother said.

"Yeah, I should get back to the bakery before Podrick accidentally insults a customer again." Sansa said, lifting her purse from where she'd hung it on the back of her chair and slinging it over her shoulder.

"I'm scheduled to lead a tour through the new exhibit soon." Ygritte said in agreement as she joined Sansa in getting to her feet.

"I don't have anything planned." Arya shrugged. "It's my day off. But I wouldn't be opposed to spending the rest of the day on the couch with the TV on."

"Lucky." Ygritte commented as she leaned over to hug her, with Sansa doing the same, before they left the cafe together.

Arya took the box from the table and slid it gingerly into her bag before standing and picking up her ticket to pay for the food she'd eaten at the counter with her mother close behind. Once they finished paying and stepped out of the cafe, they paused on the pavement outside and hugged each other goodbye before going their separate ways with her mother going back to her house and Arya intending to go back to the flat that she shared with Gendry.

Despite her intent though, she didn't go straight home as she had told everyone she was going to because she got distracted by a shop that she walked past to get back to her car. She hadn't taken much notice of it before on her way to lunch but something about it caught her attention the second time around and caused her to stop and step inside. It was a baby boutique and though she wasn't pregnant and had no plans to be any time soon, she still loved to look at all of the baby things.

As she walked around the store, she reasoned that she could always buy something to give to Talisa and Robb as they were having a baby. She knew that the baby was a boy but she didn't particularly want to buy a gendered outfit just on principle so she moved on to the gender neutral section. All of the clothes were so small and she found herself smiling softly as she ran her hands over them gently. They were all so cute that she couldn't quite decide which outfit she wanted to buy. As she was holding two options up to study closer, a worker came over with a bright smile.

"Hi." She greeted in a perky voice. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

She flipped the outfits around to face the worker with a small smile.

"Which one do you prefer?" She asked. "I'm trying to decide but I'm not quite sure. It's for my older brother's baby."

"Oh." The worker said softly as she cocked her head to the side to look at the sleepers for a long moment, seeming to take the decision seriously, before she reached out to point at the one in her right hand. "They're both great but I like this one better."

It was a zip up onesie in a soft yellow color that had little giraffes and elephants on it.

"I really like that one too." She admitted.

"Plus, speaking from experience, the zip up ones are a lot easier when attempting to get a wriggly baby dressed." She said. "My daughter wore them until she was three for sleeping."

"Great." Arya said, smiling at the worker as she hung the other outfit back up. "Thank you."

"Of course." She smiled. "If you need anything else, I'm around."

Arya nodded as the worker moved on to help another customer before moving further into the store until she reached the toys. She knew that the baby probably wouldn't care about a stuffed toy for a while but she thought they were adorable anyway and ended up settling on a simple bear. The last thing she grabbed before moving to the register was a small baby book that she thought they might like.

Her purchases were packed into a small bag with the boutiques logo on it and she happily sat it in her passenger seat after finally making it back to her car. This time, she did end up making it home and did, indeed, lay on the couch with the TV on for the rest of the afternoon as she texted the family group chat intermittently.

* * *

Later that day, Gendry got home from work and she'd already ordered their go-to takeout for dinner. He greeted her with a smile and a kiss which she happily accepted before her put his bag on the chair next to their front door where it always stayed until he needed it.

"How was lunch with the girls?" He asked and she shrugged as she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest.

"It was good." She told him. "Mom gave me the necklace since our wedding is in two weeks."

"Oh yeah?" He asked, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before detangling himself enough to look at her.

"Yeah." She smiled. "I was expecting it but it's still nice to finally have it in my hands. It has so much family history attached to it, it's nice to finally be a part of it."

"I imagine it does." He said, returning her smile. His eyes drifted from her face for a moment to glance around the room and his brow lifted as they came back to her, his lips quirked in a small grin. "In other news, are you trying to tell me something?"

He motioned to the bag from the baby boutique that was still sitting on the table and she rolled her eyes at him.

"It's for Robb and Talisa." She said. "If I was going to tell you I was pregnant, believe me, it would be a lot more ceremonious than just leaving a bag on the table."

"Thought about it, have you?" He teased and she shrugged again.

"Sure." She told him honestly. "We might not be having a baby right now, or soon even, but one day we will so of course I've thought about how I'd tell you."

"I look forward to that day." He said. "When we decide the time is right, that is."

She smiled as she pulled him down for another kiss. running her fingers gently through his hair as she did, until they finally separated because of the need to breathe.

"I love you." She said happily.

"And I love you." He returned, placing one more small peck on her lips before stepping away. "I'm gonna take a shower."

"Okay." She said, pushing him playfully in the direction of the bathroom. "Go on then."

He stripped his shirt off as he walked, giving her a view of his defined muscles and tanned skin, which she knew was on purpose and she rolled her eyes at his antics as she moved into the kitchen to take out two plates and two glasses to sit on the small table that they had on balcony of their flat. It was technically autumn but it had been an unseasonably warm one for the north so she wanted to take advantage of the time that they had before the cold inevitably hit.

She liked the cold and much preferred winter to summer but this far north the winters could get brutal, even she could acknowledge that, and Gendry was still very much a southern born boy no matter how long he'd been living in the north. He wasn't built for the cold like she was so getting him out on the balcony after a certain point in the year was an almost impossible feat so she was going to enjoy it while it lasted.

There was also the matter of them making the decision to buy an actual house after they got married so she knew that their time in this apartment, with this balcony, was limited. It made her a little sad to think about leaving the apartment because so much of their relationship had happened here and they had so many memories but she was also excited for the future so it was a bittersweet goodbye.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that the sound of a knock at the door made her jump and her heart began racing in surprise. She blew out a long breath to calm herself, her hand pressed to her chest, before she was able to move to answer the door. It was the delivery person, which she should have expected, and she smiled politely as she grabbed the money to pay the girl.

The girl was in the middle of counting out change when her gaze lifted, presumably to hand Arya the money back, but her eyes went wide as her eyes moved to a spot over Arya's should. Curious, she turned to see what the girl was looking at and found Gendry drying his hair with a towel in only a pair of low slung joggers. The girl in front of her couldn't be much older than sixteen and her expression of surprise was enough to make Arya want to laugh but instead she cleared her throat, drawing the girl's attention back to her, and her whole face went bright red. Arya chose not to comment and instead accepted the change and closed the door with the food in her hands.

"You did that on purpose." She said with a raised brow.

"I did not." He said but the smirk on his face told a different story.

"That poor girl." She said with a small laugh. "Did you see her face?"

"She went red as a tomato." He agreed. She traced her eyes along his frame as she walked closer to him.

"I suppose I can't blame her for staring or getting flustered." She said, running her nails lightly along his chest as she stepped past him. She grinned to herself as he shivered lightly at the movement.

"Are you saying you get flustered when you look at me, Stark?" He asked, an edge of teasing in his voice as he followed her out to the balcony.

"Absolutely not." She said, pushing him lightly. "Must be loosing your touch."

"Lies." He commented, sitting across from her as he distributed the food onto their plates.

"Not a lie." She said, shaking her head and fighting the smile that wanted to break through.

"Uh huh." He nodded. "Keep pretending, it's okay. I know the truth."

"Whatever." She said, the smile finally breaking through as she rolled her eyes again. They ate quietly for a time, enjoying the food she had ordered, before he glanced up at her with a soft look on his face.

"I remember when you did get flustered at the sight of me, when you were like fourteen." He said with a small smile.

"You noticed that?" She asked and he snorted.

"Arry, you could barely look at me without blushing. Of course I noticed." He said. "Jon was so annoyed by it. He was always complaining, saying he didn't know what had gotten into you. Before that you'd never shown interest in a boy before, according to him at least, so the fact that you were obviously crushing on his best friend irked him. It was actually kind of amusing."

"He's come around to it." She shrugged. "Even if he still complains, though that's only because he always needs something to complain about I think."

"Totally possible." Gendry nodded. "He hated when we got together, though I imagine he would have hated it more if it had happened any sooner than it did."

"Probably." She said. "I _had_ only just turned eighteen when we started dating, after all. If we'd started dating before that, I'd imagine that he wouldn't be the only one who had a problem with it."

"That's fair." He said before a grin came to his face again. "You know he called me a cradle robber when we first started dating."

"He did not!" She exclaimed, almost spitting out her drink in shock. Gendry nodded gleefully.

"He did!" He insisted. "I think he was under the impression that you were still a baby or something."

"I cannot wait to see him." She said, snorting out a laugh. "I'm never going to let him live that down. Why haven't you told me this before?"

"Honestly, when he first said it I didn't say anything because I thought it would influence you to break up with me." He shrugged.

"Why would you think that?" She asked incredulously.

"Jon is your favorite sibling, everyone knows that." He explained. "I thought that if he had a problem with us and you knew about it then you'd stop seeing me."

"You should have realized that that never would have happened." She said. "You know I don't like people telling me what to do. I probably would have just flicked him on the nose for being rude and kept seeing you anyway."

"It was a new relationship. I didn't want to fuck it up." He told her. "I really liked you and I didn't want anything to jeopardize that."

"I really liked you too." She said, standing slightly to lean over the table and kiss him. When she pulled back, they were both wearing smiles. "Anyway, why didn't you tell me after. I mean, once you realized that we were in it for the long haul?"

"Honestly, I kind of just forgot about it." He said. "It just popped into my head now because we were talking about Jon and our relationship at the same time."

"Understandable." She shrugged. He looked at her for a long moment.

"It's been a long road to get to where we are now." He said, his voice soft and serious. "But I'm so glad that we stuck it out. I can't wait to marry you."

"I can't wait to marry you either." She said, her smile softening.

That night their lovemaking was soft and sweet and filled with whispered " _I love you's_ ", both of them putting their emotions into every touch and caress.

* * *

The day of her wedding dawned bright and early with Sansa bouncing onto her bed enthusiastically and dragging her out despite her protests. Her sister flitted around her flat happily as she grumbled through brushing her teeth and washing her face before allowing herself to be pulled out and stuffed into Sansa's mini for the drive to the venue they'd booked. Noticing the orange sky, she finally checked the time and almost cursed.

"For fuck's sake Sansa, it's half past five in the morning." She hissed. "Do we really have to get to the venue so early? The wedding isn't until late afternoon."

"Of course." Sansa shrugged. "We have to get you ready."

"I don't think it's going to take that long." She commented.

"You'd be surprised." Sansa said. "Though, if we do get you ready early, and that's a big if, we'll have more time to hang out."

"We hang out all the time." She grumbled. Sansa rolled her eyes and cranked up the pop-y music that was playing on her radio.

"Cheer up." She said. "You're getting married today."

Arya spent the rest of the ride resisting the urge to strangle her sister with her own hair and was relieved to leave the car when they arrived. No one should be playing music that loudly in an enclosed space, especially not first thing in the morning. She followed Sansa through the halls to the bridal suite and passed Robb and Jon along the way. Their presence told her that she wasn't the only one to be woken up so early and she felt a little better knowing that Gendry was likely being subjected to the same torture as her.

The knowledge that Gendry was somewhere in the building though made her want to go find and hug him. Her family - read her mother and Sansa - had insisted that they should spend the night before their wedding apart and they'd agreed to avoid the inevitable argument and she'd missed him. Since moving in together almost four years before, they hadn't spent a night apart, so doing so now was strange. She'd had trouble falling asleep the night before because he wasn't there, which was another reason she was so cranky, and all she wanted to do right now was see him. She knew that was unlikley though as Sansa wasn't about to let them see each other before the wedding, citing that it was bad luck. Arya thought she was going a little overboard but her sister was a hard person to argue with so she just didn't.

When she finally stepped inside the bridal suite, she found that her mother, Talisa, and Ygritte were already there joined by her best friend Meera. Ygritte slipped a large to go cup, that she could smell was filled with coffee, into her hand and she felt the urge to kiss her. She inhaled the still slightly too hot liquid as she was steered toward a chair that was sitting in front of a large vanity mirror. And thus began the flurry of activity that she didn't even try to follow as she sipped at her coffee.

She knew that Meera had placed some sort of patches under her eyes that were supposed to help reduce the look of her tiredness while Sansa began combing through the makeup and organizing it on the table and her mother began running a brush through her hair. Talisa and Ygritte were also moving around the room and she was unsure what they were doing but whatever it was, they looked busy.

The room was filled with happy chatter and, once she had drunk her coffee and felt a little more human, she joined in. Everyone was filled with excitement for the wedding and she found the environment of happiness and support amazing. Their family had always been close knit so on an occasion like this, it was nice to just spend time with them.

It was over an hour later when the makeup artist that she'd booked came into the room and she got to work right away while her partner began on the others as most of them were in the wedding party. Arya followed her instructions and stayed as still as possible to avoid making the woman's job harder while also still conversing with her family. At some point in the middle of it, Jon knocked on the door and brought them some finger foods that he left on the table before coming over to her.

"You look beautiful little sister." He said softly and she smiled.

"Shut up, she's not even finished." She said and he shook his head.

"You don't need all of that to be beautiful." He commented. "It looks nice though."

"Thanks Jon." She said, her face softening.

"I can't believe you're getting married." He said, shaking his head again. "It seems like just yesterday that you were a tiny little baby that I could hold in one arm."

"I'm twenty seven, Jon." She said in exasperation. "I figured it was about time."

"Still, you'll always be my baby sister no matter how old you get." He said and she grinned.

"Oh yes." She said, raising a brow. "Gendry told me how you called him a cradle robber when we first started dating."

"Jon!" Ygritte exclaimed while Sansa snorted in amusement, both obviously having heard their conversation. Jon shrugged sheepishly.

"You were eighteen!" He exclaimed, his voice whiny. "And he was twenty three."

"I was an adult." She rolled her eyes. He shuffled his feet guiltily and she softened again before reaching out to squeeze his arm lightly. "It's the thought that counts though. I know you were just trying to protect me. It wasn't necessary, obviously, but I'm glad to know that you had my back if I needed it."

"I still do." He said.

"I know." She said with a soft smile before shoving him lightly toward the door. "Now go on, I'm sure you're needed for some sort of best man duties."

"Yeah, yeah." He shrugged, walking backwards towards the door. "For whatever it's worth, I'm glad it's Gendry. I don't know if I'd trust anyone else with you."

"Me too." She called after him as he slipped out the door.

The chatter went back to full volume with the departure of her brother and soon another hour had passed and her makeup was finally done so the artist moved on to helping her partner with the other girls. Arya, for her part, turned to look at herself in the mirror. With the amount of time it had taken to finished, she'd been slightly afraid that she'd have so much on her face that she couldn't even recognize herself but that wasn't the case at all.

The makeup on her face was subtle, smoothing out her face and made her eyes stand out brightly. Her eyelids were dusted with a light golden sheen but it wasn't so bright that it was overpowering and her lips were colored with a lipstick that was only a few shades pinker than her normal tone. Her eyes were lined lightly, making them seem bigger and making the color seem more intense than it had been before. The blush on her cheeks was light and gave her a healthy glow. Overall, it was a minimal look that emphasized her features rather than hiding them which she liked a lot.

The next step, after everyone was finished with their makeup, was hair. That didn't take half as long as she had settled for a rather simple look that Sansa completed quickly without the need for the hairstylist to do anything. Most of her hair was left down to fall along her shoulders while a couple of simple braids were joined at the back of her head before falling down with the rest. Instead of a tiara like Sansa had at her wedding, she had a metal headband that she had gotten custom made for the wedding that slid into her hair and sat near the front of her head. It had a pattern of weirwood leaves along it, raised a bit from the rest of the band, and she absolutely loved it.

After getting all of that ready, more time had passed than she thought so she quickly forced down a couple of small finger sandwiches and drank some water before it was time to get into the dress. Her mother held it so that she could step into it before moving around to fasten the back while Meera knelt in front of her with her shoes so that she could slide her feet in. The dress was floor length but she'd refused to have a puffy princess dress so it was rather slim fitting which she didn't mind.

It had a pattern of leaves sown into it in a golden thread that shimmered in the light and matched nicely with her headband, which had been the intention in the first place, and for some reason when she saw herself in it, she almost wanted to cry. Her mother and Sansa similarly looked teary making her have to look up at the ceiling and breathe quietly for a moment to prevent tears from falling.

"This is ridiculous. Why am I crying?" She breathed out and she the others laughed.

"Everyone cries at weddings." Talisa offered, dabbing at the corner of her eyes.

"Oh, my baby." Her mother exclaimed, moving to wrap her arms around her. "You're so grown up and beautiful."

"Mom." She protested, her voice breaking lightly.

"Sorry." Her mother took a step back. "No more tears. It's a happy day."

"Yeah." Arya nodded, sniffling lightly. "Let's finish getting ready."

Ygritte moved to attach the veil to her headband while Sansa moved to her bag and Arya knew that she was going to look for the necklace as it was the last thing needed to complete the outfit. Talisa and her mother had moved to tidy the room up slightly as it looked kind of like a tornado had rolled through as things were slung around everywhere. As Arya was helping Ygritte make sure that the veil was secure, Sansa stepped in front of her and she decided that she didn't like the look on her sister's face at all.

"I need you to stay calm and not panic." She said steadily. "Okay?"

"Okay." Arya said hesitantly and she noticed Ygritte and Meera exchange a glance.

"I can't find the necklace." She said.

"What?!" Arya exclaimed, her voice going high in her distress as she moved to dig around in her bag furiously. "What do you mean you can't find it? I know it was here."

Her panic drew the attention of her mother and Talisa causing them to move closer and she heard Sansa explaining the situation but she wasn't really paying attention as she began picking things up frantically, hoping to find it underneath something. She was muttering to herself as she moved around until her mother moved into her path and grabbed her arms firmly.

"Arya, look at me." She demanded. "You need to calm down. Everything's okay."

"It's not okay!" Her voice was near a shout. "I need that necklace."

"Okay, where's the last place you saw it?" Her mother asked calmly.

"I put it in my bag." She snapped.

"Maybe it fell out." She said. "In the car or at home. You sit down, take a few breaths, and Sansa can retrace your steps."

She nodded jerkily and Sansa left the room swiftly alongside Ygritte.

"I'm sorry mama." She said. "I didn't mean to lose it."

"I know." Her mother said softly. "It's okay, they'll find it, and if you have to get married without it then so be it."

"No!" Arya said, shaking her head. "I won't get married without it. Everyone in our family has worn it on their wedding day and so will I or there will be no wedding."

"Arya...." Her mother said, glancing at Talisa. "You're getting married in two hours."

"No." She said stubbornly. She knew that she was probably acting irrationally but at the moment she didn't care.

After a few minutes, Ygritte came back and informed them that it wasn't in the car so they were going to go to her flat and look for it there before she got the keys from Arya and left again. Arya felt the urge to bang her head on the table in front of her but she resisted the urge. She felt hopeless.

* * *

The minutes ticked by and with each one of them, she became more and more anxious and she could tell that her mother and Talisa were concerned. Even Meera looked weary every time she happened to glance over at her. Her mother was texting Sansa regularly and the search seemed to be going horribly if the look on her face was any indication as she sighed and started walking toward her.

"Sweetheart, we might have to abandon the search and go ahead with the wedding. We can always find it later." Her mother said gently and she shook her head.

"I said I'm not getting married without it." She said.

"What about Gendry?" Her mother asked.

"He'll understand." She maintained.

Her mother studied her for a long moment before sighing and walking away again. She began whispering with Talisa near the door, both of them glancing at her in concern, but she couldn't hear what they were saying. Finally, Talisa nodded and slipped out the door as her mother gave her a smile that was probably meant to be reassuring but was anything but. It was only a few minutes later that her mother came over and grabbed her by the hand to pull her toward the door.

"What are you doing?" She complained.

"Arya?" It was Gendry's voice, coming from the other side of the door.

"We'll give the two of you a moment." Her mother said, ushering Meera out the door. Gendry didn't come into the room but her mother left the door open a crack, presumably so that they could talk, and she blew out a breath as she approached the door and laid her hand against it.

"Hey." She said softly. She heard his feet shuffle against the carpet before his voice came again.

"Your mother said I have to stay on this side of the door." He commented.

"She and Sansa can be a little dramatic." She said and she heard him let out a little sigh.

"Arry, what's going on?" He asked and she heard the slight fear and apprehension in his voice. "Are you....having second thoughts about marrying me?"

"No!" She exclaimed, pushing herself even closer to the door. "Never. I love you, Gendry. I'm happy that I get to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Then what's this about?" He asked softly. She sighed as she leaned her head against the door.

"It's stupid." She said.

"Your feelings are never stupid." He said and it made her smile. "So come on, talk to me."

"I wanted to wear that necklace. I was so excited about it." She admitted. "It's just, there's so much family history tied to it and I wanted to be a part of that. I guess, wearing the necklace, it felt like they'd all be there with me. Like I was carrying them with me, all the women who came before me, and they'd be giving their blessing and cheering for us when we got married. It was important to me to be a part of that."

"Okay." He said after a long moment. "I'm going to say something and I need you to listen to me. I know it's important to you but if it's about carrying your family with you, everyone who came before us, then you need to know that they've always been there with or without that necklace. They've been there watching our relationship from the very beginning and I have no doubt that they're already here cheering us on, you don't need a piece of jewelry for that." He paused for a moment before blowing out a long breath. "Now, with that being said, if you still don't want to do this we'll call the whole thing off right now and go home to find it ourselves."

"Everyone's already here." She pointed out.

"I don't care. They're not the one's getting married." He said. "You're far more important to me than any of this so if you don't feel right doing this without that necklace then we won't."

Quiet fell between them and she knew he was waiting for her to think it over. She knew she was being irrational about the necklace and she let herself go over his words again in her mind and she knew that he was right. Her family, past and present, would be there with her as she married the man that she loved regardless of whether or not she had the necklace and she wanted more than anything to marry Gendry.

"So," His voice came through the door. "Are we getting married today or are we going to go home and tear the flat apart looking for the necklace."

She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly before making her decision.

"Let's get married." She said.

* * *

They still had a few more things to work out before the wedding was set to take place and everyone quickly got back into gear after her slight breakdown so the room around her was once again a flurry of activity. The women around her were putting the final touches on their makeup and fixing their dresses while she took a moment to give herself a small pep talk in an attempt to forget about the necklace for now. The atmosphere in the room was relatively calm despite the activities going on so they were all thoroughly startled when the door flew open to reveal Sansa and Ygritte as they rushed toward her.

"I found it!" Sansa exclaimed, holding up her hand to show the necklace dangling from her fingers and Arya was quick to her feet as she moved toward them to grab it.

"Oh my Gods, thank you so much Sans." She exclaimed, dragging her sister in for a hug before moving to do the same to Ygritte. "Where was it?"

"It must have slipped out of your bag when you were at home." Ygritte explained. "We found the box on the floor but the necklace wasn't inside so we began looking everywhere. We finally found it under the couch. I presume it slid under there when the box fell and came open."

"Great!" Meera exclaimed. "Let's get it on you then."

She stepped up behind Arya and took the necklace from her finger gently before laying it around her neck and fastening it. It fell perfectly against her chest and she brought her fingers up to brush against the direwolf that she was so familiar with as a smile crossed her face. She still knew that Gendry had been right in his words about her family but she was happy to have the necklace anyway. It was a family tradition to wear it on your wedding day and now she'd finally be a part of it like she always wanted.

"Are you ready?" Her mother asked gently.

Arya took one last look at herself in the mirror and nodded.

"Yeah." She said softly. "I'm ready."

It was going to be a great adventure, she knew.


End file.
